Items Similar to 'Oberon, Series 1', Instituto Allende, Carmel Art Association, NAWA, La Jolla
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 14
Barbara Johnson 'Oberon, Series 1', Instituto Allende, Carmel Art Association, NAWA, La Jolla
About the Item
Signed lower right, 'Barbara Johnson' (American, 1927-2021) and titled, lower left, 'Oberon Series 1'.
Exhibited: Carmel Art Association, circa 1995 (accompanied by original label)
Abstract painter and printmaker, Barbara Johnson was born and raised in Auburn, a small town just outside of Worcester, Massachusetts. As a young girl, Johnson was introduced to art and would make the seven-mile walk from Auburn to the Worcester Art Museum with her sister. After attending the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida (1946-1948), she transferred to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. Smith College happened to be a training ground for the WAVES, the women’s branch of the Navy. Seeing an opportunity to travel, Johnson enlisted and was commissioned as an Ensign. While serving, she met her husband Jim, also in the Navy. They married in 1954.
By the time Johnson enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the couple had two young children at home. Johnson immersed herself in studio art (painting, printmaking and drawing) and art history. She remembers that by the time she turned 30, “Realism was considered old hat. This was the era of Hans Hoffman, Mark Rothko, and Richard Diebenkorn. That’s when I shifted in the direction of Abstract Expressionism. They were my greatest influences.”
From the University of Michigan, Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts and two Master of Fine Arts degrees (1954-1959), developing a distinctive, harmonious style in both printmaking and oil compositions on canvas, evoking landscapes from an aerial view in both mediums. She intentionally utilized strong and muted color palettes with equal success; and with her monoprints, she combined oil-based inks with textural materials as diverse as pieces of wood, plastic, cardboard, metal, cloth, linoleum, string, gift wrap, newsprint, gum wrappers, collage elements, and, as Johnson put it, “any darn thing that seems to work” to create abstracted, birds-eye-view geographies from within her interior world.
Moving to the Monterey Peninsula in 1969, Johnson taught junior high school art classes. Late in 1972 she studied painting at Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato State, Mexico. Then she lived for five years in Asia where Jim was assigned as U.S. Fishery Attaché for the Far East, stationed in Japan. The cultural inspirations from this period of time overseas would figure very large as motifs and markings in Barbara’s work for the rest of her life. Barbara and Jim returned to the United States in 1981; and with his support, Barbara decided to open an art gallery. The economics of California’s Central Coast did not look as promising as prospects in Cape Cod, so they moved East and operated a seasonal gallery there for six years.
In 1988, they relocated to California for a second time and Johnson juried into the Carmel Art Association that same year with a series of woodblock prints. Her preferred subject matter continued to be non-objective abstraction. Often working simultaneously on three large canvases perched upon three easels, she first played with geometric shapes and patterns to establish order which she then disrupted and dissolved with gestural brush strokes or the palette knife of a devoted expressionist.
Johnson was a member of the National Association of Women Artists in New York and the California Society of Printmakers. Her lengthy exhibition list in both printmaking and oil painting mediums dates back to 1987 in New York City and includes over one hundred solo and group museum and gallery shows from coast to coast and around the globe over the next three and a half decades. Johnson exhibited at the Newport Beach Museum, Long Beach Museum Annuals, La Jolla Museum, the Fine Art Gallery of San Diego Annuals, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, among others. She was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards including from the Richmond Museum, the Association of Western Artists and the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. Her work was selected for inclusion in the Traveling Printmaking Exhibition USA from 1987 to 1989 as well as for the renowned Art and Embassies program.
*With thanks to the Carmel Art Association -
Compiled using interview material and assistance from Curatorial Advisor Helaine Glick, journalists Dennis Taylor
and Lisa Crawford Watson, gallerist Christopher Winfield, and CAA Artist Member Andrea Johnson.
- Creator:Barbara Johnson (1927, American)
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:minor age-toning; unframed; shows well.
- Gallery Location:Santa Cruz, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU34412933712
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1982
1stDibs seller since 2013
639 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Santa Cruz, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- 'Dreamscape', Bolivia, Brazil, California, Sao Paulo Biennale, UNESCOBy Mario CespedesLocated in Santa Cruz, CASigned lower right, 'Mario Cespedes' (Bolivian-American, born 1940) and created circa 1985. Matted dimensions: 24 H x 18 W x .25 D inches. Born in Bolivia, Mario Cespedes immigrated...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGold Leaf
- 'Pointillist Abstract', Paris, Étretat, New York, Whitney Museum, MoMA, PAFABy Manfred SchwartzLocated in Santa Cruz, CAEstate stamp, verso, for Manfred Schwartz (American, 1909-1970) and painted circa 1960. Paper dimensions: 15 x 19.75 inches. Born in Lodz, Poland, Manfred Schwartz immigrated to Am...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Gouache, Pen
- 'Abstract', Canadian Modernist, Regina Five, Post Painterly Abstraction, NYMOMALocated in Santa Cruz, CASigned lower left, 'A. McKay' for Arthur "Art" Fortescue McKay (Canadian, 1926-2000) and painted circa 1975. An important Canadian painter, draftsman, printmaker and an influential educator, Arthur McKay was born in Saskatchewan and first studied at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, Calgary, Alberta, most notably under Jock Macdonald...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Gouache
- 'Sunset Abstract Collage', Orange County Art Association, Moraga, Nancy MoureLocated in Santa Cruz, CASigned lower left, 'Marianne K. Brown' (American, 20th century); additionally signed, verso, with certification of authenticity and dated 1987. Brown has taught watercolor and des...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Gouache, Laid Paper, Graphite
- 'Dynamic Abstract', California San Francisco Bay Area Modernism, ThiebaudBy Robert George GilbergLocated in Santa Cruz, CAA substantial, mid-century watercolor abstract comprising interrelated geometric and biomorphic elements in a palette of primary and secondary colors. Signed upper left, 'Gilberg' ...Category
1940s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pen
- Winter ComingLocated in Santa Cruz, CASigned lower left, 'Donna Dearden'; additionally signed on old backing, titled, 'Winter Coming' and painted circa 1975. A semi-abstracted study of abscised leaves against a variegat...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Gouache
You May Also Like
- Circle Drawing: 10 LayersBy Carali McCallLocated in London, GBCircle Drawing: 10 Layers, graphite on paper with gouache, gold and silver, by Carali McCall (2019). Consisting of a collection of durational-drawing artworks in which McCall draws with graphite on paper for hours at a stretch, these time-based works have been compiled and then carefully measured to explore the depth and sculptural means of drawing materials. Each layer is hand-cut in the shape of a circle, unveiling and superseding the work that came before. As cutaways, excitingly, this new work advances the elaboration of McCall’s contemporary art practice. In new condition. The artwork has been recently framed in walnut with non-reflective museum glass. Signed by the artist on the rear of the work. About the Artist: Carali McCall is an emerging artist whose works are internationally recognised. A Canadian born in 1981, she is based in London, UK. McCall was awarded a PhD from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London, and her work is featured in the upcoming publication by Bloomsburg Publishing, 'Performance Drawing: New Practices since the 1960s'. A finalist in the 2017 Jerwood Drawing Prize, McCall’s work is currently touring the United Kingdom and is situated in private and public collections curated alongside artworks by Picasso and Damien Hirst. Other notable exhibitions include: Again and Again and Again: Serial Formats and Repetitive Actions, Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada, (2012), Kenny Schachter’s Rove Gallery, Hoxton Square, London (2008), Folkestone Fringe Festival (2014), Woolff Gallery, London UK (2017) and EMPIRE II...Category
2010s Pop Art Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsSilver, Gold Leaf
- Blue Springs Semi Upper LevelBy Kory TwaddleLocated in Kansas City, MOArtist : Kory Twaddle Title : Blue Springs Semi Upper Level Materials : Colored pencil, marker, tempera, gouache, stickers, tape, glitter glue, pastel, oil pastel, acrylic, graphite...Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Mixed Media
MaterialsPencil, Graphite, Color Pencil, Paint, Newsprint, Cardboard, Watercolor,...
- Basement SystemsBy Kory TwaddleLocated in Kansas City, MOArtist : Kory Twaddle Title : Basement Systems Materials : Acrylic, tempera, gouache, and glitter glue on cardboard drawing pad back Date : 2019 Dimensions : 18 x 12 x .2 in. Kory ...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Mixed Media
MaterialsNewsprint, Graphite, Color Pencil, Paint, Cardboard, Watercolor, Tempera...
- Autumn Biogram of the NelsonBy Kory TwaddleLocated in Kansas City, MOArtist : Kory Twaddle "Autumn Biogram of the Nelson" Newsprint, graphite, conté crayon pastel, charcoal, beeswax, cardboard, paper, gingko leaves, stickers, and Mixed Media on drawi...Category
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
MaterialsPaint, Paper, Conté, Charcoal, Cardboard, India Ink, Newsprint, Acrylic,...
- Biogram of the Kansas City ZooBy Kory TwaddleLocated in Kansas City, MOArtist : Kory Twaddle Title : Biogram of the Kansas City Zoo Materials : Pastel, oil pastel, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, tempera, glitter glue, foam stickers, paper, marker, color...Category
2010s Abstract Mixed Media
MaterialsNewsprint, Graphite, Color Pencil, Paint, Cardboard, Watercolor, Tempera...
- Untitled mid century modern geometric abstractionBy William FredericksenLocated in New York, NYWilliam Fredericksen Untitled mid century modern geometric abstraction, 1958-1959 Watercolor and Gouache on Board Hand signed and dated on the front 12 4/5 × 11 7/10 inches Unframed ...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Geometric Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsMixed Media, Watercolor, Gouache
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Carmel Art
American Art Carmel
Art Carmel California
Central California Art
Carmel Oil
Vintage Johnson Sign
Pacific Coast Art
Half Life 1
Vintage Art Easel Easels
Barbara Young
Barbara Woods
Barbara A Wood
Newport Beach Art
Retro Watercolor Palette
Vintage University Of Miami
Barbara Wood Art
Cape Town Art
Ann Young